This is my very first finished quilt. I took a beginners course in 1993 but I didn't learn much because at the same time the teacher did a sewing class as well. There were far more sewers than quilters so we were not paid full attention. The next lesson we were only two quilters left. The other women didn't turn up any more. I finished the basic course but stopped quilting. This quilt wasn't made right and I put it away for many years. Three years ago I started to quilt again and taught myself from books and videó's on the internet. Last year I took this quilt apart, pieced it again and quilted it with my Aurora. It is not perfect but it looks much better now. And the fabric is stil beautiful. It has a golden glow which doesn't show at the photo.

At 8 am the drilling started again. Now with the special drill. It seems that foundations and floors in this area are twice as thick as normal because the houses are built on former coal mining grounds.
At 11.30 Am I was about to become crazy of the noise and fled to my sister's. When I returned home this afternoon a lot of work had been done. It will be finished on Thursday. It is a mess in the garage. Sand and dust everywhere.

Some people asked me why I also put the Australian clock in my blog. Well, that's because we have that special bond with Australia. Last century we lived down under for 4 years. Our youngest daughter was born there an we still have some friends in Australia. Ik hope they will have a look at my blog sometimes to get a glance at our lives here. It is easier than writing and mailing. It was also in Australia that I took the first steps into patchwork and quilting. At one of the school fairs at my oldest daughter's school I met a mother who made beautiful quilts, mostly hexagones. She helped me to get started. I made some simple things like potholders and place mats. After returning to the Netherlands I forgot about quilting because I was too busy sewing and knitting cloths for my girls. Some 3 years ago I picked up quilting again and it really took me this time. Since so may great things are going on in Australia's quilting world I hope that a few Australian quilters will visit my blog now and then and help me getting to know that special world overthere.

Some time ago I ordered a small wooden house for a mini quilt. Last week a quilting friend delivered it personally.Today two little friends moved into the house and it looks more cheerfull now, don't you agree?

18 August 2008

Twee jaar geleden overleden binnen 7 maanden mijn beide broers. Het kwam hard aan. Voor mijn schoonzussen heb ik van de overhemden en stropdassen van mijn broers herinneringsquiltjes gemaakt. De eerste overleed op 22 december 2005. Omdat hij langdurig ziek is geweest, waren en niet veel overhemden. Het werd dus dit kleine quiltje.Two years ago both my brothers passed away within 7 months. It was a hard time. For my sisters in law I made memory quilts of the shirts and ties of their husbands. The younger one of the two passed away on the 22th of December 2005. He had been ill for a long time, so there weren't many shirts left and the quilt turned out rather small.

Last Thursday I went to Amsterdam with a couple of quiting friends. Apart from our monthly bee we try to enjoy our company regularly by making trips, visiting quilt shops etc. This time we chose Amsterdam. First we went to the Albert Cuyp where a big market is held every day. You can buy anything imaginable there from watches to material and from shoes to vegetables. We had lunch in a Turkish Bazar, which was great. And as a tea junky I thought I was in heaven!

They sell the most gorgeous fabrics (Dutch chintz) and beautiful quilts. It took me a lot of selfcontrol to buy only three pieces of red fabric for my "red collection". First I have to finish some UFO's and use some fabrics from my stash to make room for new material.
To end the day in style we had dinner in an "eat café". This is difficult to translate. It is something between a bar and a bistro.
Back home by train we behaved like a bunch of schoolgirls. Fortunately there weren't many passengers on the train. The few who were had a good time as well!

Now that so many people start a blog I thought I should have one too. I will write about different things. At present quilting and machine embroidery are my favorite hobbies and I usually shall write about this though other interesting things wil be mentioned too.